The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has secured federal court orders requiring former New York resident Eddy Alexandre and his company EminiFX to pay more than $288 million in connection with a commodity pool Ponzi scheme that attracted tens of thousands of investors.
The US District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the CFTC’s motions for summary judgment, injunctive relief and a civil monetary penalty against Alexandre and EminiFX Inc.
The orders require the defendants to pay $228,576,962 in restitution to defrauded investors, $15,049,500 in disgorgement of unlawful gains and a $45,148,500 civil monetary penalty.
Amounts paid in restitution will offset the disgorgement obligation.
Alexandre, formerly of Valley Stream, New York, operated EminiFX from locations in Valley Stream and Manhattan.
The CFTC brought its civil enforcement action against Alexandre and the company in May 2022.
According to the court’s summary judgment order, EminiFX presented itself as an investment club offering investors access to cryptocurrency and foreign exchange trading using what it described as the latest technology.
During approximately eight months of operation, tens of thousands of investors contributed more than $262 million.
EminiFX reported weekly investment returns ranging from 5% to 9.99%.
The reality was substantially different.
The company suffered net losses exceeding $49 million, according to the court, with at least $15 million of those losses resulting from Alexandre’s misappropriation of investor funds for his own use.
The court concluded that EminiFX operated as a Ponzi scheme and that investors had been induced to contribute money through fraudulent misrepresentations.
In addition to the financial remedies, the court imposed permanent restrictions on Alexandre and EminiFX.
They are barred from trading on or subject to the rules of CFTC-regulated markets, soliciting or accepting funds for commodity interests, controlling commodity trading for other people and registering with the CFTC.
The orders follow several years of civil and criminal proceedings surrounding Alexandre and EminiFX.
A court-appointed receiver has recovered millions of dollars in investor funds and other assets during the CFTC litigation.
As of July 2026, more than $98 million had been returned to over 28,000 investors.
The CFTC cautioned that restitution orders do not guarantee victims will recover the full amounts awarded because recovery ultimately depends on the assets available from defendants and through the receivership.
Alexandre is also serving a nine-year federal prison sentence following a separate criminal prosecution brought by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
He pleaded guilty to commodities fraud in 2023 in connection with EminiFX.
The CFTC proceedings are separate from that criminal conviction and impose civil remedies and restrictions under US commodities law.
The different components of the orders also serve distinct purposes.
Restitution is directed towards compensating investors harmed by the scheme, while disgorgement addresses unlawful gains and the civil monetary penalty is a regulatory sanction.
Because restitution payments offset the disgorgement obligation, the headline figure of more than $288 million should not be interpreted as three entirely separate cumulative payment obligations.
The case demonstrates how an investment operation promoted around cryptocurrency and foreign exchange trading can fall within established federal commodities enforcement.
For investors, the scale of the EminiFX operation was substantial.
More than $262 million was contributed during a period of only eight months while investors were being shown reported weekly returns of between 5% and 9.99%.
The court’s orders now establish substantial civil liabilities against Alexandre and EminiFX alongside the criminal consequences Alexandre has already faced.
The $228.6 million restitution order represents the largest component of the monetary relief, although the amount ultimately recovered by investors will depend on the assets available.
With more than $98 million already distributed through the receivership as of July, efforts to recover and return funds to investors remain ongoing.